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“Well, if it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have had the chance to tame him.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
I grinned at Wolfe. “It so happens that we had dinner with your parents last week.”
“Fuck.”
“Hmm. It turns out that the threat of an all-out strike from all three of you was just what your father needed to agree to let the land go. He’sstillholding a grudge, by the way.”
“Yeah, we, uh, we try not to bring it up. And let’s just say he won’t be eating frog’s legs anytime soon.”
I laughed at that, then said, “I just don’t know why you never mentioned it.”
Wolfe shrugged. “Rhett just figured you had enough to deal with and that you didn’t need the extra stress of the Rivers family dynamics.”
“I appreciate that from all of you, so I’ll take the opportunity now to say thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
After that, they moved off to mingle, leaving me still standing near the door with Rhett. There were two notable absences, and I forced myself to ask the question I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to. “So, um, Mom and Dad couldn’t make it?”
Rhett pressed a kiss into my hair. “They texted to say they were running late.”
“Oh.”
“Traffic works on the highway.”
“Oh,” I said again.
“I don’t think it’s a lie. I checked my maps. There is work being done on the exit from Goldsboro and if they hadn’t checked themselves, they wouldn’t know and would have got stuck.”
“Right. Okay. So, they could still be coming?”
“Yes, my girl, they could still be coming.”
Letting out a sigh, I dropped my head to Rhett’s shoulder, leaning into him. So grateful, as always, for the unfailing support he gave me.
Once Rhett and I had moved in together, which was about a week after the court case, he’d got a proper look at the Wright family dynamics. Let’s just say that what he saw didn’t meet with his approval. Which was putting it very fucking mildly. He’d made it clear that he was my family now and he wouldn’t tolerate any more of the bullshit favoritism, and if they couldn’t treat me with the love and respect I deserved, they wouldn’t be spending much time with me, or their grandbabies. Dad had blustered and bullshitted about how he didn’t know what Rhett was talking about, which sure got awkward. But then, to my everlasting surprise, Mom had shut him down very firmly. She’d said she would be devastated to lose me, and she would do whatever needed doing to make sure that didn’t happen. I suggested family therapy. Dad made a weirdpshawsound, but Mom agreed.
So, we’d gone to a few sessions, just the two of us, and it had been eye opening. Mom had talked about how she’d felt the day she got to hold me, and bring me home, and how special that was, which I definitely hadn’t expected. I was very open about the way I felt about the differences in their treatment of me and Tyler and how hurt I was by that. And on it went. We weren’t quite out of the woods yet, but I knew now that Mom loved me in her own way and that, for me, was enough. Of course, the only reason I could feel that way was because my life was now filled with so much love, I wasn’t starving for theirs anymore. Which was pretty much all down to Rhett. I felt stronger and more confident than ever. He’s shown me that I deserve to be loved and celebrated, not diminished.
“What about Tyler?”
“Didn’t RSVP.”
“Fuckhead.”
“Yeah.”
And that was all there was to say on that subject.
Just as I was about to change the topic, the sound of the door sliding opening behind us caught my attention. My heart raced with a mix of anticipation and dread, knowing it could only be my parents. Sure enough, they came bustling through, looking flustered.
“We’re so sorry we’re late,” Mom gushed, giving me an awkward hug. The moment she pulled away, Rhett dragged me back against his side. Good, because that was exactly where I needed to be.
Dad offered a terse nod. “Traffic was a nightmare.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s fine, really. I’m just glad you could make it.”